Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to WPQ 8165 answered on 29 July 2026 about Chagos Islands: Sovereignty and the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, during Departmental Questions on 1 September 2026, what discussions he is having with departmental colleagues to determine the proportion of his Department's budget to be spent on the Chagos treaty in each remaining year of the current Parliament.

The joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia is crucial to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping the British people safe. Maintaining long-term operational control of Diego Garcia is the entire basis for the UK-Mauritius Agreement on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). This is the best way to ensure that the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia remains secure and to protect its operations from legal challenge.

The UK continues to engage closely with the United States and Mauritius on the way forward for the UK-Mauritius Agreement.

Discussions regarding the Chagos treaty are ongoing and any future decisions will be managed as part of the Department's usual financial planning processes.